The costs of powering the AI revolution

The July 28 editorial, “A promising AI action plan,” missed the forest for the trees. Our goal for artificial intelligence should be to make working people’s lives better. The Trump administration’s so-called AI action plan is not a serious attempt to achieve this goal. It’s just a gift to Big Tech.

The administration’s plan fails to protect working people from the potential harms of AI, some of which we’re already seeing today. It also invites corporations to flood U.S. markets with experimental AI products that threaten jobs, safety, civil rights and our privacy.

Notably, a wrongheaded proposal to deter states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade was recently resoundingly rejected by 99 senators.

America’s unions are pushing for a path forward on AI that incorporates workers’ expertise and respects their rights so the benefits of the technology can be enjoyed by all. If President Donald Trump truly wants to empower workers, as his plan announced, he should work with unions to achieve that goal.

Ed Wytkind, Washington